Tray



F. P. YOARS June 6, 1950 TRAY Filed Dec. 9, 1946 [12 yen for live 2 2 0 2'6. (39

{Zia/Way Patented June 6, 1950 TRAY" Fred P. Years, New orleansgLai. Application December 9, 1946, semi No. 115mm 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in trays, and more particularly to a novel tray employed for the support of food during the quick-freezing or hardening thereof.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an invertible tray which, when one side is uppermost, may support food packages of various shapes, and which, when the other side is uppermost, will support upstanding ice cream cones or the like.

Another object is to supply a tray designed to facilitate the conveyance of ice cream packages and other containers of food to be quickly frozen, into or out of a refrigerator which may be of the type disclosed in my Patent No. 2,491,145, dated December 13, 1949.

A still further object is to furnish conveyor trays having novel means for hooking trays together when arranged end to end, whether the trays are right side up or inverted.

A still further object is to provide a conveyor tray or truck of skeleton formation to decrease the weight thereof and to facilitate the transportation of food containers of various shapes into and out of a refrigerator.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing shows one of my complete trays or trucks in perspective, arranged right side up, mounted on tracks and connected to a second tray, a fragment only of which is illustrated.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the trays arranged in inverted position.

Referring to the drawing, 3, 4 and 5 designate bottom, intermediate, and top rectangular frames which are horizontally disposed and are rigidly connected to one another by corner posts 6 and intermediate posts 1, arranged in spaced relation.

The posts 6 preferably comprise relatively wide fiat plates, while the posts I are preferably cylindrical as are the runs of the frames 3, 4 and 5.

The frame 3 is preferably provided with spaced longitudinal rods 8 and spaced transverse rods 3 having their ends rigidly connected to the frame 3. The rods 8 and 9 are disposed in intersecting relation defining rectangular openings therebetween and annular members or rings H] are disposed over the openings and are rigidly secured to the rods 8 and 9. Due to this construction, it will be understood that when the tray is in inverted position (Fig. 2) each one of the rings may receive an edible cone H for the support of ice cream or the like. On the other hand, when the tray is turned right side up (Fig. l), the parts 8, 9 and ill will form a skeleton bottom for the support of packages I2 of ice cream and the like, which packages may obviously be rectangular, cylindrical, etc.

It is to be noted that the skeleton bottom defined by rods 8 and 9 and rings In is substantially in the plane of the bottom frame 3, whereby the full depth of the tray is accessible for supporting packages when the tray is right side up.

Each corner post 6 is provided about midway between the ends thereof with a horizontal shaft or bolt I3 on which a wheel I4 is journaled, such wheels being adapted to travel on horizontal rails l5, each of which may be an angle iron. It is manifest that the wheels can travel on the tracks whether the tray is right side up or inverted.

Coupling hooks I6 are rigidly connected to one pair of the corner posts 6 at one end of the tray and in close proximity to the frame 5, and as the hooks project beyond that end of the tray they can engage an end bar I! of an adjacent tray (Fig. 1) regardless of whether the tray is right side up or inverted.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus disclosed the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An invertible tray comprising horizontally disposed bottom, intermediate and top rectangular frames, vertically disposed relatively wide corner posts and vertically disposed posts intermediate the corner posts connecting said frames, a skeleton bottom including spaced intersecting rods having their ends connected to the bottom frame and defining rectangular openings therebetween and a series of rings secured to said rods for supporting substantially conical shaped articles which may project partially through the rings when the tray is in inverted position, the skeleton bottom being substantially within the plane of the bottom frame and designed for supporting packages within the full depth of the tray when same is in right side up position and the posts all having their opposite ends terminating substantially in the planes of the top and bottom frames.

2. A tray as defined in claim 1, together with wheel supports on the corner posts substantially in the plane of the intermediate frame, and railengaging wheels rotatably journaled on the supports, said wheels being relatively small whereby the bottom and top frames are equally spaced therefrom at substantial distances.

3. A tray as defined in claim 1, together with a pair of hooks rigidly connected to the corner posts at one end of the tray and in close proximity to the top frame, said hooks projecting horizontally from the tray and being adapted to engage an end portion of the top frame of a similar tray arranged in end-to-end relation therewith, whereby a. plurality of trays may be moved 1| 4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,196,717 Parker Aug. 29, 1916 1,202,706 Grehan Oct. 24, 1916 1,764,354 Schellentrager et a1. June 17, 1930 1,947,932 Fante Feb. 20, 1934 1,975,327 Loney Oct. 2, 1934 1,992,712 Mojonnier Feb. 26, 1935 

